Pneumatic-cushion insole.



W. L. GORDON.

PNEUMATIO CUSHION IN SOLE.

APPLIoATloN FILED 00T. 22, 1901.

Patented 001;.13,1908.

gym/Vf@ A TTOHNEYSr alla! W/TNESSES' UNITED STATE-s rTENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM L. GORDON, OF DEAL, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO PNEUMATIC HEELCUSHION COMPANY, OF ASBUBY PARIQNEW JERSEY, CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PNUMATIc-ousnion INsoLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented occ. 13, 1908.

. 'Application illed October 22, 1907. Serial No. 398,541#

VState of New Jersey, have invented a new yand ImprovedPneumatic-Cushion Insole, of which the following is a full,lclear, andexact description. v

This invention -relates to boots and shoes, and especially to theinsoles thereof. i

The object of the invention is to produce la pneumatic insole which willhave a good cushioning effect at the heel, and which will operate toventilate the forward 'portion of theshoe. With this end in view, theinsole is constructed at the heel in such a way that when pressure isbrought upon it, a quantity of air is forced forwardly under the 'toe ofthe insole, and the construction of the toe or forward portion of theinsole is suchas to facilitate the 'upward'movement of the air towardthe sole of the foot.

A further object of the invention is to improve the construction at thetoe to in'- crease the comfort `in wearing the shoe, and to provide anew arrangement of the parts which will increase the strength anddurability .of the insole.

The invention consists in the 'construction and combination of parts tobe more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in theclaims.

Q Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters` of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a perspective showing an insole constructed according to myinvention;

1 represents the body of the insole, which` is preferably formed ofcork, having the outline of the interior of the shoe in which the insoleis to be worn.` On its under side this insole body has attached'theretoa layer 2 of a coarse textile fabric such as burlap. This burlapoperates to prevent the linsole from curling or creasing, and alsostrengthens the insole. It forms, also, a comfortablesupport for thefoot on account of its porous and compressible nature.

On the upper side of the body l of the insole, a layer 3 is attached,which layer is` formed of a light absorbent material such as felt. Theforward portion of the insole underthe ball of the foot and toe, isperforated `as indicated, the perforations 4 being disposed in anysuitable arrangement such as that illustrated. On the under side i ofthe bodyof the insole at the heel 5 thereof, I attacha heel cushion6,which is formed of coinpressible or elastic material such as rubber.In its structure, this 'cushion comprises a fia-t body or plate 7 on theunder side of which are arranged a plurality of ribs 8. Theseil'ribs areof substantially horseshoe `form as shown, the bows or curves 9 of theribs being disposed at the rear. These ribs vare arranged progressively,-of increasing size from kthe central portion 10 of the heel outwardly.The forward portions of the ribs yconform tothe curvature of the sidefedge of theinsole at this point. 'Their forward lower edgesare taperedas indicated at 11 in Fig. 1, so that they terminate just forward of theheel 12 of the shoe. In this way, between the ribs there are formed aplurality of horseshoe-shaped channels or air ducts, the ends of whichare open toward the forward portion of the sho`e. All the ribs are 'ofthe same depth, so that their lower edges come against the inner face ofthe heel of the shoe; in this way the ducts or fchannels 'are allseparated from each other.V

As indicated clearly in Figs. 2 and 4, the ribs 8 are arranged so thattheir axes of cross section incline to the vertical line, the upperportion of the 'axes being disposed outwardly 4or toward the outerportion of the shoe.

From this arrangement it should be under-v stood that when pressure isexerted by the weight of the body at the heel, these ribs 9 collapse andbend inwardly, so that they compress the air in the channels betweenthem. In this way these ribs operate as automatic valves or pulsators,causing a forward flow of the air from the heel under pressure, and areturn iiow of the air when the pressure is relieved. The air which isforced forwardly under the sole of the foot circulates upwardly throughthe perforations 4 and efectually ventilates the forward portion of theshoe. In this way the foot within the shoe is kept dry and comfortable.

At the toe, the Ycork layer or body 1l is shaved down to athin edge 13as indicated, which increases the ease and comfort with which the shoeis worn. The advanta e of this construction is 'especially noticeab e inwalking.

I- have discovered thatthe reinforcingeffect of the burlap 2 isincreased if it is attached to the insole body so .that the warp andWoof of the fabric run at an inclination to the longitudinal axis of theshoe. I refer to attach `this burlap with the threads disposed at anangle of as indicated in Fig. 3. The inclined position of the threads.seems to glve the fabrlc greater stiness and stren thens it againsttearing when the insole eXes as in walking.

In considerin the operation of the present device, it wi l be evidentthat the instant that pressure is brought upon the heel of the insole, acontraction of the channels between the ribs, immediately takes place.Commencing at the rear it progresses forwardly. This contraction tendsto compress the air in the rear portions of the channels, and force thesame forwardly so that this air is projected forwardly within the shoeand under the insole. In other words, the forward movement of the airbegins immediately and is maintained continuously until the limit ofdownward movement of the insole at the heel is reached.

Attention is also called to the inclinationv of the axes of the ribs,which tends to make them collapse under pressure rather than to of lessheight than the others, and these ribs do not touch the upper face ofthe heel until the higher or larger ribs have been considerablycompressed. In other words, in the dev45` vice disclosed above, there isa gradual and continuous downward movement of the cushion, producing acontinuous forward flow of a1r. Y

Having thus described my invention, I claim'as'new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. An insole having a pneumatic heel cushion presenting a plurality ofribs on the under side thereof conforming substantially to the outlineof the-insole, said ribs being of substantially equal height and formin1 therebetween a plurality of horseshoe-shaped channels o enin rforwardly on the under side of sai insole, said ribs being adapted toexpand under pressure from above, whereby the said channels underpressure from the foot become contracted progressively from the rearforwardly and force the air forwardly therefrom, said insole havingperfoi-ations in the forward portion through which the air forcedforwardly from said cushion may pass upwardly.

2. An insole having a pneumatic cushion under the heel thereof, saidcushion presenting a plurality of ribs of substantiallyhorseshoe form,of progressively increasing dimension whereby a plurality of channelsare formed opening forwardly, said ribs having their axes of crosssection inclined inwardly below whereby they tend to collapse inwardlyunder pressure, thereby compressing the air. in sald channels, andforclng the same forwardly.

3. An insole consisting of a cork layer, a pneumatic heelcushionattached to the under side thereof at the heel and having aplurality of ribs extending in a front and rear direction with channelsbetween said Iribs adapated to force air .forwardly under said layerwhen said ribs are compressed, said layer having perforations forwardlytherein, and a layer of fabric covering said perforations through whichthe air may pass upwardly.

'In testimony whereof I have signedmy name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.-

` WILLIAM L. GORDGN. Witnesses F. D. AMMEN, JOHN P. DAVIS.

